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October 29, 2010
Peace – one park at a time
Jaffa’s Ajami neighborhood benefits from Canadian effort for kids.
RHONDA SPIVAK
A playground for peace, facing the Mediterranean Sea, in the poorer, mixed Arab and Jewish neighborhood of Ajami in Jaffa, has been built as a joint project of the Manitoba-Israel Shared Values Roundtable, the Jewish National Fund and the Tel Aviv Foundation.
The ceremony was attended by dignitaries from Canada and Israel, along with members of a Jewish Federation of Winnipeg group and members of the Royal Winnipeg Ballet. Christine Melnick, Manitoba’s minister of water stewardship, who is also a founder of the roundtable and a driving force in initiating the concept of a park for peace, spoke at the opening.
In a statement, Melnick said, “Over a year ago, we were thinking about how to celebrate Tel Aviv’s centennial…. We got in touch with the Tel Aviv Foundation and the idea of the Park for Peace came up, and we felt it was the perfect project. Earlier in the day, before the ceremony, I walked along the beachfront to the park.... I walked by the play stations and noticed little footprints around them, which meant that the children had already claimed the playground as their own. My prayer is that we all move forward in peace.”
Melnick added, “Maybe these children, who will grow up playing together, will provide answers to some of the questions we have left unanswered. Maybe they will be able to solve some of the problems we have left unsolved.”
Mel Lazareck, president of JNF-Prairie Region, was appointed last week by Manitoba Premier Greg Selinger as special representative for Manitoba to Israel for economic and community relations. Lazareck told the Independent, “The Park for Peace is the brainchild of the citizens of Manitoba. It is a means of celebrating democracy, multiculturalism, education and human rights, principles that mirror our shared values.”
Selinger announced that the government of Manitoba will be contributing $40,000 in support of the leadership program of the Arab-Jewish Community Centre in Jaffa, which provides training to young people within the community to become active in neighborhood committees, gain relevant experience and engage in community building.
“The children of Jaffa, who are growing up together, are future organizers, scientists, teachers and more, and we hope they will all contribute to a better future. We look forward to the great things that will come out of this project,” said the premier in a statement.
Yael Dayan, chairperson of the Tel-Aviv-Jaffa City Council, told the Independent that she was very pleased to be present at the inauguration and that the extensive renovations have ensured that it “is also accessible by children with disabilities.” Erez Rotem, JNF-Prairie Region emissary, added, “We are looking forward to continuing to work with Minister Melnick and the Shared Values Roundtable group on other projects and to keep developing the connections and relations between Israel and Manitoba.”
In his remarks at the park’s opening, Mayor of Tel Aviv Ron Huldai said that Tel-Aviv-Jaffa municipality must be sensitive to the needs of its less fortunate and needy, whether they are Jews, Christians, Muslims or migrant workers.
After Huldai finished speaking, he presented Selinger with the Tel Aviv centennial medal; Selinger reciprocated with a framed picture of a Canadian polar bear.
The park is located next to Jaffa’s Arab-Jewish Community Centre and, during the ceremony, the centre’s girls choir sang in Hebrew, Arabic and English. After the dedication, Royal Winnipeg Ballet principal dancer Jaime Vargas and soloists Amanda Green, Jo-Ann Sundermeier and Yosuke Mino conducted dance workshops for children at the centre.
The funding for the project came from the roundtable, JNF and a private donor.
Rhonda Spivak is a Winnipeg freelance writer and editor of the Winnipeg Jewish Review.
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